I'm your host, Jester. I've been an EVE Online player for about six years. One of my four mains is Ripard Teg, pictured at left. Sadly, I've succumbed to "bittervet" disease, but I'm wandering the New Eden landscape (and from time to time, the MMO landscape) in search of a cure.You can follow along, if you want...

Saturday, May 31, 2014

No tank lasts forever

Tank in EVE Online is a balance between buffer, resistance, and reps on one side, and damage and neuts on the other. Enemy ships rage at you, your native resists apply, and they slowly chew through buffer. Reps build buffer back up and make the process take longer. But the reps are usually at a disadvantage because they are few in number... and the attackers are many. And if there's a fundamental truth in EVE Online it's that if enough people want your ship dead, it will die, and all the reps in the world won't help.

No tank lasts forever. And today, I am shutting down Jester's Trek.

Now before you ask, I'm neither quitting nor rage-quitting EVE Online. But over the last few months, I've come to realize that something like 85% to 90% of the stuff I'm doing in and around EVE simply isn't any fun. So I'm going to cut out everything that I'm not finding fun and focus my time on the remaining 10%.

This little blog was started as an experiment to support my run for CSM6 almost four years ago. And it has a nice symmetry to shut it down after the completion of my successful CSM8 term. Over that almost four years, the tenor of the game has changed remarkably... and not for the better. Four years ago, EVE players were very much "Us against the world! Woo!" Now we've learned the rest of the world doesn't care and it's become "Us against each other." In my writings trying to change that even a tiny bit, I've become something of a symbol. That wouldn't necessarily be bad, except quite ironically I've also become a symbol for any number of things I do not believe in.

For the rest, the people trying to kill the message have been trying to kill the messenger. And on reflection, I find I am quite content to let them. Metaphorically, at least. ;-) And over the month or so since I made this decision, I've been shown a dozen or more signs that the decision is the right one.(1)

So, let's end this little experiment with some thank yous and some shout-outs.

First up, Mynxee, who planted this idea in my head in the first place. All of this is her fault. ;-) <3 Mynxee. I'm so glad to see you back in the game!

Second, CSM legend Trebor Daehdoow, to whom I've gone to for advice at five key places along this road, including at the top of this final milestone. I've always found his thinking sound and his advice exactly what I needed to hear at each point.

Thank you so much to my current alliance-mates in Rote Kapelle and all my past alliance mates, particularly in Sturmgrenadier. All of you have approached my little blog with high good humor, good grace, and understanding... even when some of you occasionally hated what I wrote. ;-)

Everyone who voted for me for CSM8. I still wouldn't trade that experience for the world. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart! I did my absolute best for you while I was there.

Everyone who wrote me an encouraging word, message, EVE mail, or e-mail. You'd probably be pretty surprised how rare and cherished these were. I have an incredibly thick, resistant skin, and yet these were the reps that kept me going. A special thank you to the women of EVE. About once a year or so, one of you would catch me on Teamspeak, Skype, or Mumble after a town hall or a public fleet or the like and tell me how widely read and appreciated I was among EVE's ladies. That meant a lot to me.

riverini of EVE News 24. I know a lot of you guys don't like him. But it's been inspiring to me to watch him continue to push that rock uphill... and continue to succeed at it! He was the very first person to really believe in what I was trying to do here.

Everyone who donated ISK or stuff during my annual pledge drives, or once a year or so, out of the clear blue sky. It never was much. Now that it's over, I can say with some chagrin that James 315 makes more in a good month than I ever made in a good year of writing this blog, with all of my income sources from writing pooled together. But it was enough to keep my accounts subscribed and for me to buy myself an occasional Loki. The money did help but the fact that it was hard-earned doing honest work meant a lot.

EVE's other bloggers and pod-casters, and the members of CSM9. Keep up the good work, ladies and gentlemen!

To the game developers, community members, and just flat folk at CCP, thank you! We didn't always agree and I know some of you don't like me, but everything I said was said out of love and respect for your game and your work. I hope to still be playing EVE a long time from now. Particularly fond shout-outs to CCP Falcon and CCP Guard. Keep fighting the good fight, guys!

And finally to you, Dear Reader, a heartfelt thank you. The good ones among you read my stuff, argued it with me, sometimes learned something, ofttimes taught me something. We've also been fighting the good fight against the darkness. Keep fighting it without me and know that I'm still on your side.

You might see me around EVE, though I suspect it's more likely that I'll let Ripard's account lapse for a while and concentrate my activities on a couple of my other mains. And who knows, if something earth-shattering goes down, I might be inspired to write a guest piece somewhere.(2) Please continue to support EVE's other bloggers! And if you want to say hello, please feel free to do so. I'll likely still have strong opinions about this niche little spaceship game.

It's just that from now on, I'll keep 'em to myself. Good hunting!

(1) One example: a friend lecturing me on how it's bad that EVE players avoid competition... a few days after he himself joined Goonswarm. Another: the constant reminders that ISK is piling up in the wallets of EVE's most hateful people.(2) But don't expect it for just anything. I really do mean earth-shattering: the break-up of the CFC, say, or a 20% CCP layoff. I'm not going down the Poetic Stanziel route.

Wow. I'm surprised but I shouldn't be. I interpreted the thrust of your recent-ish articles as indication that you were taking a hard, deep look at EvE culture and didn't care for what you were seeing. I took a similar journey earlier this year and ended up unsubbing my accounts. I have always been massively impressed by your insight into the game and human nature and yours was the last blog I kept reading. Please continue writing about stuff you still love (KSP, other MMOs, etc) *somewhere* and let us know where.

Thank you for everything. I left Eve a while ago and let my accounts lapse when my yearly subscriptions ran out, which was just a month or so ago. I had come to realize that I had more fun reading about Eve than playing it and you were the main part of that.

I really enjoyed reading your stuff. Have fun with whatever you do next.

o/ m8.You've kept me entertained with Eve far longer than the game itself did. Like Anonymous above me, I unsubbed months ago and have kept reading your blog. The game was fun, but the blogging is better.

I have read your blog almost since inception and I am extremely sad to see you go. You provided a ton of insight and opinion that cannot be found elsewhere. You provide a great alternative to a lot of the other OOG content (read: news) that is available and we are the poorer for losing it.

I did not always agree with you, though I always agreed with your method. Well thought out and balanced thinking. Never did I hear propaganda, or extremism. Never a troll (your strange cousin notwithstanding).

I fear for an EVE without your presence, actually. I know I cannot change your mind but I wish I could.

Thanks for all the hard work, man! Been reading your blog forever, and voted for you for CSM, And don't worry, SOMEONE will pick up where you're letting stuff drop. Whether it;s the freshly-elected members of the new CSM, or the many other great EVE bloggers, I'm sure life in New Eden will go on without ya. It'll never be the same, though. We'll miss ya!

I quit playing EVE almost 3 years ago. I resubscribe once a year for a month or two to vote for the CSM (last year for you and this year for Sugar Kyle) and to check out CCP's new additions to the game. Throughout this period I have kept up with EVE's development, shenanigans, and development shenanigans using Jester's Trek. I am sorry to see your blog close its doors. Ciao. o7

Tar-Palantir will miss the blog and your writings. Jester's Trek has been the only Eve blog that Tar-Palantir has read regularly for around 3 years now. Across a wide range of topics, Tar-Palantir always found your posts worth reading and your logic/point of view/conclusions worth thinking about. The time spent reading was well time well spent. Never commented much on your blog and didn't want to bother you with Eve Mails, but your blog triggered Tar-Palantir to start many a conversation in Evolution IRC (not sure they always appreciated that :-P ) Will also thank you for your time on CSM 8. It is a volunteer activity that chews up a huge amount of time and effort to do it well, while at the same time getting all kinds of people to yell at you from all over the opinion spectrum. It certainly had its perks for you, but that doesn't make it any less work and tiring. At least when you volunteer at a local school or food pantry, you don't have many protesters yelling at you daily. Tar-Palantir wishes you all the best as you pursue that 10% which you enjoy - whatever that may be and where-ever it takes you. Fly safe.

I've been checking this blog for your take on things eve-related for the past three years, thank you for all the effort and consideration you have put into this project.

Hopefully, this only means an end to the blogging and not an eventual succession of un-subbing; the game would certainly be poorer without pilots' of your perspective. Enjoy your blogger's retirement, you've certainly earned it!

Well... damn. I always considered it to be a bloggers milestone that they get mentioned in one of your junk drawer posts (or actually get a post all of their own!). Now this chance is gone for me and future bloggers. A real shame, but after the sheer amount of words you've hammered out, I doubt anyone has much cause to complain.

Thanks for all the posts. You've kept me connected to the game far better than anything in client, and I know my New Eden experience would not have been as rich without them.

Best of luck wherever you end up. Any other game you start robo-blogging for will be lucky to have you!

This is quite a loss to the EvE community. Regardless of whether I've agreed with you or not, your posts were usually very well articulated and always worth a read.

However, if you're not enjoying things, it's an exceptionally wise idea to change said things. In that sense, I'm glad that you've made this decision. In almost every other sense, it feels like a quite a loss.

Thanks for all the hard work you put into the blog, it's been daily reading for me for some time. Your various guides have also been very handy. The Eve blogging community will be markedly poorer for your departure.

Why quit outright? You do what you gotta do, but I wish you'd reconsider and come back after a few weeks' break. It's Eve Online - love it AND hate it, the sandbox still draws you back for more, right? ^_^

Right Jesus let the guy play the game he's been work for years now to improve ffs he just put in a year of unpaid work on the csm and was blogging daily b4 that and all these ppl act like he's quitting the game lol. Hes done being a space politician and wants to just enjoy the game now. Not spend all his free time writing. Thanks for everything jester.

Jester, your blog has been a constant in my life for years, and every single post was well worth the time I spent reading it. I'm sorry the trolls and haters weren't often enough balanced out (or swept away) by the rest of us.

Often lessons aren't learned until the price for ignorance is paid. Losing Jester's Trek is a hefty price. The lesson for me is this: support your bloggers. Say thank you. Make damned sure they know how much you value their perspective and respect their sacrifices. :words: are most likely the only interaction you will ever have with this talented, dedicated, hard working, and inspiring group of people, so make those words count!

You got me to try EVE. Three times. And although the game never stuck, I kept reading your blog and living the spaceship life through your writing. You were my window into this bizarre, dark, and fascinating world that surprised and delighted me more (and more often) than I'd ever expected. Thank you, and thanks again, for all you've given to keep that portal open for so long.

I'm terribly sorry to see you go, and wish you the best in all your future endeavors.

I didn't always agree with what you said, but I always saw where you were coming from. I hate that I contributed to your burnout by not saying how much I appreciated your point of view and voice of wisdom on so many things in this game we all love. I wish you would reconsider but I understand if you don't. All the best!

I only found your blog just recently and have enjoyed it quite a bit. The "Peace Dec" article is great (even if written by someone else, it was wonderful to have it brought to my attention), and I found your controversial post about the Erotica1 incident to be spot-on.

Like others, I hope this isn't really the end for you, and that you'll consider writing again in the future at a time when it can again be something you enjoy about EVE.

Best wishes, Jester, and thanks for fighting the gf(s). Hope your focus on fun gives you reason to fire up the 'blog again someday. I've learned more about EVE from yours than any five others. Take pride in a job well done, and fly true.

Sorry to hear it, Ripard. While we didn't always agree, I always read every post and you will be missed by this community. You may find it hard to walk away for long ... in the end what always brings me back is the need to comment on something on my blog, which leads to me resubbing...

When I was too swamped with work to play EVE for weeks and months at a stretch, I still made time to read your blog. Every day. I've read it since I first started EVE, and it's been one of the few constants in my experience with the community.

I consider you a big part of the glue that keeps the community together, and your blog going dark is a huge loss.

You've staked out some positions and taken on fights that you were uniquely situated to deal with, and in so doing raised awareness of things the community really needed to know about and debate. Most of us won't ever know how much that cost you.

I'm grateful for what you've done, and I hope you can find some online gaming that you DO enjoy and can feel good about supporting.

May not have agreed with a lot but Rip was among the thought leaders left in the game. You don't have to be right to help push the conversation and evolution along. You just have to be part of asking the right questions and offering some sort of possible solution. Ripard was one of those players. It will be sad to we his musings and commentary vanish.

Today is a very sad day indeed.Christopher's comment (8:11 pm) above is inspiring. I think there are many, many readers like him, and I am one of them.

I started playing in 2009 and have un-subbed/resubbed a total of 3 times, my most recent foray being in 2012. Throughout that time I maybe have a total of 9 months total elapsed on my characters.

I only discovered your blog in 2012, while googling for something (I can't remember what anymore). But I do remember that whatever post it was that I read, I ended up coming back to your blog and reading every single post from its inception. I have followed this blog every day since, and have never left a single comment. The only other blogs I follow are the ones on your blogroll, and I've read every single link you've posted to... kind of like I live EVE vicariously through this portal =p

I was extremely disappointed when Mord Fiddle left the EVE blogosphere (my other favourite blog, which I discovered through here, and now I regret never commenting on his blog either), and now that you are leaving I'm not sure reading about EVE will hold its charm anymore. Your posts are insightful, and most of the time spot on. Even when I felt like disagreeing with you, your reasoning was solid and spawned some great debates (despite the noise of the overly defensive kids who simply didn't want to hear any of it).

I hope that more people like Christopher and I come forward to tell you how much of an influence you really have, even though a ton of may have always been invisible to you.

But to NOT have it go out by Garth.....it misses that certain je ne sais quoi that your base readers will miss. I Implore you with all the donations made to you in both Time and Isk by your base....give us that last Garth article...

Because if EVER Garth's allegory was needed...well, here it is brother...

fuuuuuuuwe haven't always gotten on well Ripard but I do respect you immensely and the loss of your vocal opinion doesn't leave the EVE community in better shape. Thank you for all your hard work between the blog and CSM and sometimes just flat out being that 'tenth man' who goes against the grain.Wish you all the best,-NinjaTurtle

I'm really sorry to see you walk away. I wouldn't have gotten nearly as far in EVE as I did without your advice and guides on this blog as a reference.

On that note, are you going to leave your archives up as a reference? Because as a repository of knowledge, it can continue to help new players find their way through the trickier parts of EVE ... for as long as the game lasts.

I don't know how to word exactly how sorry I am to see you go, but I couldn't agree with you more. It sounds like you're leaving Eve the exact same reason I did, all 9 accounts. It's quite a shame really. :(

Gone Warp Drive Active. Bummed to see you blink out of range like that but hey, we failed to keep points on you so that's that. Your body of work is impressive and invaluable and should receive a lot more recognition and praise than it has. Sincerely, thank you.

I have been actively following your blog since finding it about a month or two ago and you have given me a deeper understanding of Eve (and made me feel better about not subbing to ESO) through your posts. I hope that you are able to find the fun in the 'verse once again and thank you for helping a newbie get a better feel for this sandbox we find ourselves in.

Jester, thanks so much for all of your hard work and passion for writing. You definitely have a gift and that is clearly seen through all the comments on here. Luckily that gift will continue to succeed in all areas of your life, not just with this blog. I wish you all the best, and just to let you know your blog was one of the 4 bookmarks in my daily reading of things online, you will be greatly missed. I hope you will soon enjoy 100% of what you do o/ Schizomania

I left my EVE to lapse on its own a year back. But i kept reading your blog. I dont know why..perhaps it was difficult to let go of EVE completely and reading your blog made me feel like i was still connected somehow. You have started down that road, and it will end with you docking up your ship and saying a tearful goodbye and logging off EVE Online for good. When that day comes, remember the reasons to leave . ..Thanks for all the insight. I enjoyed them over the years. 07

Wow. That was out of the blue. And sad news indeed. Your writing exposed me to the sides of Eve I never get to experience through play. The game will be darker and duller without you, and my connection to it will be that much weaker. In fact, when you consider how many of your readers will eventually unsubscribe in the wake of this, and the consequences of the game losing its most thoughtful and engaged participants, your fans, you may one day come to see it as the decision that single-handedly killed Eve Online.

Sorry to see you go. I won EVE a couple of years ago, but always enjoyed going back to this blog to see your take on mechanics and politics of the game, and your occasional posts that weren't about EVE. All your posts, whether I agreed with them or not, were insightful and entertaining, and always backed up with facts. Hope you pick it up sometime in the future, but if you don't, well... Fly it like you can afford ten of 'em!

This is the only blog I have on my toolbar. Seriously, seriously sad to see you calling it a day. Your writing has been solid, insightful and prolific. I would say that this is one of the biggest losses to the Eve Online "community" that I could imagine.

I wish you all the best with your new-found free time. Thank you for making such a massive effort for such a very long time.

Thank you for the writing, thank you for being a community hub, thanks for the analysis, thanks for the discussions generated. EVEn those who disagreed with you came here to duke it out in the comments. Thank you for the work you put in generally.

I'm a relative newcomer to Eve, started a bit over a year ago, and I have found Jester's Trek to be one of the most useful resources I have found to learn the game. In fact, it's been the one Eve related site I have been checking nearly every day. I am sure it has been a lot of work and I appreciate your desire to move on, but dang, I was looking forward to your FOTWs for the upcoming Mordu's Legion ships! Good fortune to you, and know that you have had a positive influence on me and no doubt many more lurkers.

Wow... just wow. I'm going to echo many of the comments above: yours has been my no.1 blog to read every day for the last year that I've been (back) in EVE, and I'm very sorry to have taken you for granted, never commenting on the hundreds of posts I enjoyed and agreed with. Our community - and especially the community of EVE-players who don't like being surrounded by real-life assholes - has lost a leader and a hero today.

This must have been a tough choice for you - but I can scarcely imagine the work and energy this blog must have demanded of you. I hope you and your supporters don't feel disheartened by your retirement: you have inspired many others, who will do what we can to fight for what you've fought for.

I've 'played' EVE off and on for half a decade, but for the past 2~3 years its mostly been more from the browser than the client. I may not have always agreed with what you said, but I always agreed with the way you drew your conclusion. You offered sound logic and wonderful insights to aspects of EVE I never experienced. EVE isn't the same game anymore, and now its even less with you gone. I always kept at least one account subbed, though for a year now it was only to update skills. I figured spending all that time reading about EVE, one day I'll jump back in, right?

Well today I realized I won't. Fly safe, and realize you will be missed.

It can wear on you when people seem to be deliberately taking one thing you're trying to say and working it into a different narrative that you did not intend. *cough*

It can also become a chore to write as much as you have as regularly as you have. I only set myself a goal of one post every weekday and I can feel that loom over my head some days. But there are other days where I cannot not write. It is nearly an addiction at times. I suppose we shall see how much writing has gotten into your blood by checking to see if you can stay away. Don't do anything rash like deleting your blog. You may find that you want it again some day.

And always remember, you only get this much sustained attention if you are talking about things that actually should be talked about.

Ouch, I thought I had you watchlisted. Next time broadcast for reps before you hit structure - rookie mistake. Now get your pod out and reship to... ah hell, I've over-extended the reps metaphor enough now.

I resubbed to Eve about the same time you kicked off this blog and it's been a constant companion to me through the ups and downs of the last few years in Eve. While I haven't always agreed with what you wrote or the opinions you expressed, this blog has definitely been a major positive effect on the game and my gameplay.

I used your incursion guides to set up incursion ships and overviews and constantly linked them in incursion channels for others with questions.

I studied your intro to nullsec guides before making the plunge into the wacky world of sitting on titans waiting for an opportunity to press F1.

I have at least a half dozen ships which are nearly identical to your various fits of the week.

Dozens of other posts have informed me, entertained me and provokes discussions on comms during long structure shoots, mining ops, POS fuelling runs and other tedious pastimes that support the few minutes of adrenaline we play this game for.

You'll be missed. Next time I get a wormhole exit in Provi and go on a roam I hope I run into one of your mains and exchange ammunition with you in the traditional greeting of my people.

In the meantime, Fly dangerous, and may Bob grant you a target rich environment.

Believe it or not, your posts were the anchor of which most of opinions of Eve were formulated in the past couple years. I am not saying I agreed with everything you posted, not by a long shot, but without your blog I would have no foundation to work from.

You will be very sorely missed by me, far more than I can convey here. You are one of the linchpins of the Eve community, a conscience of Eve. I don't know what else to say, other than godspeed. Please do write guest posts somewhere, anywhere, about anything.

You were my daily read since I started playing eve 2-3y ago. It's very sad to see you go. There was no other person who understood the problems within eve, like you do, and was vocal about it. You were always insightful and your words carried weight. This is a sad day for all of us. o7

Reading this blog has been the first thing I did in the morning, every morning, for the last 3 years. Some days I've also checked in several times a day and on many of those days there have been another post waiting for me to read. You have provided much more entertainment for me in the last 3 years than I've ever had from EVE. I will sorely miss this blog. Thank you for all the effort that you have put into it, into every well written post and the regular writing and for being a good man. I hope you'll continue to enjoy EVE but whatever happens in this silly game we're playing I wish you a good life. Fly safe

Thank you Ripard for the multitude of thought provoking posts I have read in the last 3 years. I've empathised with your viewpoint about EVE from the get go & was delighted when you decided to run for CSM8 - it was a no brainer to whom my account's top slot votes would go to.

It is often said that EVE is more fun reading about than playing the game. Jester's Trek was a major factor in making that viewpoint true.

Lesson learned: remember to support your bloggers and put in a word of encouragement in here and there. My apologies for not doing nearly enough of that. Thank you for all the hard work you put into the blog, the EVE guides, and the CSM. If I could, I'd vote for you again in a heartbeat. You alone did more to keep me playing EVE than CCP could ever do.

This site has been a nice alternative to the "non-official" fora and your posts often made a good food for thought. Both the EVE and non-EVE posts provided your insight into things, and ti's been good read to know what you think of stuff. Your CSM weekly reports were a must for me all along the CSM 8 mandate. Also the latest bunch of posts thinking about the state of the game and its future, which is not as bright as EVE lvevrs would like it to be -albeit I can't count myself into that collective, I certainly remember when I loved EVE, too.

Those posts had me wondering what was going on in your head, as I've seen enough people leave this game as to know how it feels like. EVE is a harsh mistress, and sooner or later your tank will break. And you've been tanking a lot, Ripard ("Tanking" as in "taking an avalanche of unconstructive shit").

It is sad to see you go as that will leave a empty niche hard to fill in my bookmarks, and I can't help to wonder whether this haves a deeper meaning for EVE as a whole.

It's not as if Chribba unsubbed, you know, but seeing Jester's Trek shut down means that the game is losing something important. Don't know if just a little or a lot important in the larger shceme of EVe and things, but something is being lost.

I've been playing Eve for just over 2 years. I began on my own, without a clue about how to do anything. I found your blog within my first few months of playing and have been reading since, every single day. You inspired me to keep playing even when I wasn't sure what I was doing in the beginning. You've changed how I see Eve and how I play Eve in many ways. You've taught me a lot about this game, as I am still yet not very well experienced with it. Your words made me think about things, even if I didn't always agree, I always was left thinking and considering and that is important. I wish I had commented more often to let you know how much your writing influenced me.. and to let you know how awesome you are and how much you have made an impact on the game and on me. Really, you have, very much so.

Your blog is the only one I read on a daily basis, pretty much the only blog I read at all (I'm not much of a blog reader in general) except for the occasional one you would link here and there... There is no other blog like yours, I am deeply saddened to see you be done, but I understand why it's time.

If you ever start writing again.. I hope you'll provide a link here so I can read in whatever you might be doing next.

Dude, No.I'm not gonna gush or anything, I often found my views opposed to yours, but always appreciated the thoughtful, well constructed and engaging way you delivered them. If anything, that is what EVE really is, and anyone (well, minus a few not worth mentioning) willing to blog/commentate and discuss our little world, enrichens it. So I'll thank you to just redact this whole post and continue as normal ok?.... ok?

Also, you had breakfast with me at the tail end of fanfest 2013 (was Noir. at the time) so, surely that alone is enough to make you realise how fortunate you really have been in e-Life?

Damn, I just got used to reading your blog on a daily base. The only blog I read.You write good stuff, well thought out any way better then I ever could.

I do sense some doomsday feelings when it comes to EVE and sadly share those feelings, which is why 2 accounts are down and one more is waiting to expire while I play "skill training online".Hopefully the community can change the wrong direction its heading with *their* game while I know that many will disagree with that pov and just keep destroying it.

Darius once said during fanfest that the Goons are not here to destroy *the* game but to destroy *your* game. They and many others are doing just that, day by day, driving people who just want to play this game straight out of EVE. Willingly accepting that in the end no-one will "win" EVE if they keep this up.

Anywho I'm rambling, lol.

I hope your decision to quit is not by pressure from the corner or direction of that sociopath "e1" you so perfectly nailed to the public wall.

God speed with your EVE career and life. It's been a pleasure and honour to have been able to read your thoughts.

Thank you for your work Ripard. While I haven't always agreed with what you've written, in the time that I've been following your blog you have presented a great deal of very informative or thought provoking reads. You also did an excellent job reporting your work on the CSM here, and I thank you for publicly showing me (and many others I'm sure!) the effort the CSM puts into the game; and it was on account of this that I voted in the last election. So while I won't pretend to agree with all of your opinions, I thank you for the communication, the content and the vast amount of work that must have gone into maintaining such a blog; I will be missing it.

Your blog for me is as important as the actual game. I especially liked the posts about your dog and your corpmate Katurn. Take care and thank you and your family for your sacrifice and time. Remember "Don't let the bastards grind you down".

Hi Jester,Thanks for your blog and the time you spent on it. I myself have quitted EvE long ago, but was still reading about the game, mainly through your daily stories. I am very grateful you kept them coming for so long, and am sad to see you go.

Saw the mauling on eve reddit, I think you are doing the right thing. I will take two things from your blog, your unswerving desire to make the game better, and the sherlock holmes reference ages ago. Best wishes and maybe see you back in the game when it gets better :/

I hope you will be back to blogging in a while. To be honest, i found your blog the least propaganda-skewed and hence interesting (not like goons TMC).Thanks for the years of putting your effort in this, I appreciate it.

Whoa, I didn't see that coming. Not that I blame you. For 4 years I would religiously clear my schedule so I could spend a couple hours in EVE just about every day. Then one day I asked myself, "Why am I doing this? I'm not having any fun." It's a game and you're supposed to have fun playing it. If you're not having fun then either you're doing it wrong or maybe what used to be fun for you no longer is.

This sucks. TWoP shut down today, too. It was a site with forums dedicated to many US television programs. Now I generally dislike most of what is on TV, but for the few non-sports things I do watch, TWoP was about the only place you could find intelligent discussion about them. Some accused the mods of being heavy handed, but there was very little trolling and a high-quality of discourse there.

That site shut its doors today. And now JT is shutting down too, another place where trolls were scarce and different opinions could be expressed without too much bile getting splashed about.

So today sucks. 1 June 2014, the worst day in internet history since AOL hordes were turned loose way back when!

Seriously, I'm sorry to see you go, you've been a fantastic resource (I've often referred to many of your posts, especially the ones about the relative success and failure of expansions).

When you say 'shutting down', I hope you mean 'no longer actively writing but will leave existing content accessible'. It'd be a tragedy to remove it all, please don't make me crunch my own numbers. ;)

Besides, I reckon you'll find quitting harder than you expect. There'll always be that itch you need to scratch, and let's be frank, no-one has scratched harder or more frequently than you.

Noooooooooo. Well ripard, it was a easure to read your work fir almodt two years. You where always there for me to tell me whats going on in parts of eve that I couldn't otherwise observe myself. As csm you showed great insight into workings of csm and ccp.

It pains to hear that you were not finding fun in it, but if so then its food to drop it than trying to do something against yourself.

Sigh. I want to say I am surprised but given the tone of some posts and comments in recent months, I'm not. You have put a crazy amount of effort into this blog and even when I was on hiatus, I read every day. Thank you for all of your hard work here and on CSM. While I am sad to see you stop blogging, I totally get it ;) Go fly your spaceships, blow shit up, and have fun! <3 Mynxee

I'm gutted. This blog was always my first visit of the day. Although I have seen this coming from the tone of many of your posts over the last few months. It would be interesting if you posted what you really think about where this game and community is heading.

After the loss of Mord Fiddle recently, and the Alturist not so long ago. Eve has lost it's best bloggers.

I unsubbed myself six weeks ago because of the same reason Mord gave. I don't want to play Goons online.

You are my entry point into the day. Thanks for all you have blogged about over the last couple of years. I hit my desk at 5am with a cup of coffee and start my day with "what cool things does Jester have to say today?". I havent always agreed with your points but I have always appreciated your statement of your points. You have earned a well deserved break. I hope you miss it lots and find yourself right back here blogging much sooner than later.Proud you have been and are part of my EVE family.Sly

Sad to see you go, many thanks for your time and the thought process that has gone into your prose. You have been one of my main sources for ship fitting trials and I have really enjoyed your monthly round-ups.

Thank you Ripard for years of enjoyable reading. Your depth of knowledge, passion and skill in sharing it will be sorely missed. Above all I will miss the professionalism that you brought to everything you did. I say without any doubt that you raised the bar for EVE blogging and CSM communication, and that is something to be proud of. I campaigned for you for CSM 8 in my own EVE circles, and you did not disappoint. I had hoped for a return in the future.

My only consolation with this news is that you are continuing to play and enjoy the game. I applaud you for making that a priority, it is better that you turn your face from the public and towards brighter things, lest it become the bitter scowl that we all know too well.

To those that would celebrate this news: It is a sorry thing to gleefully watch fall into silence a voice that has spoken to improve the lot of others. Yours may ultimately be the greatest loss of all, as the culture that Ripard has bravely spoken against is by far the greatest threat to EVE. Should our great universe die as a result of such an insidious thing, you will have none to blame but yourselves.

Thats a sad loss, for me. The view of outsider is mostly my own view and seeing you kind of leave, lets me think quite the them same i am consideríng a while now. How much of EvE is fun for me? Yes EvE is a sandbox for griefers and therefore might realy be diying. Why should newbies pay money to get their "newbness" rubbed into their face? Or when they believe what CCP tells them, that they can do play missons or mine and got hit in the neck and forced into submisson by a bunch of d*cks who want to force ppl to play the game that they like.

So sorry you are leaving, it is so hard to stand up against the griefing mentality, even to point out it's existence leads to attacks, thank you for shining a light where we are not allowed to see. My personal patience is exhausted with the forums, and the game gets less and less appealing by the hour.The only solution is to avoid the unpleasant side at all costs, but even though it may not effect one all the time it is all around you.I hope the new space in some way has different rules, and a different experiment, but I doubt it somehow. I am at the and stage now, I only intend to play one game and put all into it. If an alternative comes, i will be gone.So jester. To quote the old saying, " will the last person who leaves turn the lights off"

Seriously? Of course I fully support everyone's right to come and go as they please, but even I have to admit there are some troubling admissions in your farewell statement. After everything you've written this seems more like a blatant disregard for responsibility than I would have expected from you. I know we didn't always see eye-to-eye on things, but I admit I'm rather shocked that you would just walk away after a single post.

Although we've always seen Eve differently, so perhaps - after all - it was to be expected. I often think more highly of people than they do of themselves.

Whatever life brings, I wish you the best. Maybe try to find the Eve the rest of us enjoy. It seems you lost that Eve a long time ago. It is still there, out in space. Maybe take some time to try and find it again.

This is a sad and important day. I've been reading your blog pretty much every single day for the last 3 years...sometimes even more fervently than my news sites (whenever the politicians become too bickery again). So this is something that'll make a small, but felt impression on my everyday life from now on. I suppose it's not such a huge surprise given the level of effort you've been giving especially through the last year. I have no idea how your family keep up with that. I've agreed with 99% of your stuff and have found it to be the best source of Eve info as well as always entertaining. I feel I might become Eve stupid now :-p

Well, being as you are not permitted to discuss where the game is going, and what CCP's attitude and direction is, we have to seek clues.We look for hidden meanings, messages the send out when giving their speeches, watching the growth of griefing, by the hour, and by the day in game and reasonable voices becoming silenced.

Especially those Voices who DO know CCP's direction.

Good luck Riptard/ Jester.I guess theres no room for anyone other than griefers in EvE's future.

Your blog became an intrinsic part of my EvE experience even through EvE breaks.You blogged about topics that needed to be talked about. If someone agrees with you or not, you got people thinking and talking.Your absence will leave a crater that I cannot imagine to be filled any time soon, if ever. (I play eve and read eve-blogs since 2005)And no, TMC or en24 are no substitute for that. Not.Even.Close!

I wish you the best of luck but ....... I really hope you are going to elaborate a little bit more about the 80/20 % that you enjoy/don't enjoy in/around EvE right now.If you are going to end it, do it Jester-style: with something to think about :)

I've read this blog every day since I came back to the game 3 years ago. Though I mite not always agree with what you are saying it was always well written and made good points about the state of the game.

Hate to tell you this but about 90 percent of us are glad to see you leave. And your not a symbol. Just another idiot playing eve whos cries too much. Be lucky you werent doxxed. (Oh wait, thats coming in a few days LOLOLOLOL)

Your last article, especially under the circumstances...MUST come from Garth. That is the Covenant you've built with us Ripard...

As Dinsy said.....anything...anywhere. You sir are a writer..and a good one to boot.

But your last article here has to come from Garth. As B5's Zathras says..."at least there is symmetry...".

Many of us here today I believe quietly we could take back some of the vitriol we spewed. I too am guilty of such. Hurling quietly from the shadows...but that's what made this blog the great thing that it was. I sincerely hope you left for the right reasons...not the interpreted ones. There's alot of sincere appreciation here for you for your efforts. You built a furnace of a site...it heated up and burned away the impurities. The side effect to that is sometimes you get burned.

Every day for the past two years, I've woken up, reached for my phone, and read three websites: Jester Trek, my alliance's forums, my corp's forums. I got a dopamine rush every time I saw a new post. Ripard, you were the inspiration for me starting my own blog.

As a writer well before I came to Eve, I'm always sensitive to a writer's tone. Striking a chord between informative and entertaining is supremely difficult... to do it over the course of a thousand posts indicates that not only is it skilled, but it's your natural writing tone. And that's very rare.

Your commentary has always paired an encyclopedic knowledge of Eve with a keen knowledge of exactly how much information - and explanation - is necessary to communicate your point at exactly the right speed for maximum absorption... like a good drug, your posts disseminated knowledge at an even, smooth pace.

In a nutshell, you were an inspiring writer, make more impressive by the sheer amount of content you generated. I will sorely miss you and your blog.

o7 Thank you for all the interesting reads. You have taught me alot through your blog since I joined eve. I will miss your writings and the hysterical posts by Garth. Please leave your historical blogs up as they are great instructional tools for new players.

I've been following your blog for three years, since before I started to play. I could even say that you were one factor that got me to try Eve at a point where I was sick to death of World of Warcraft and didn't know what else to try. I mean, what an interesting game, Eve, layers upon layers of complexity. And through the years you been blogging, explaining and chronicling. I did not always agree, but it was always stimulating.

Thanks, and try to have fun: when you realize you no longer have fun it is time to move on.

You are a good and courageous writer Jester and come across like a decent guy. I think it says a lot about the developing (devolving?) culture of Eve Online that being a decent guy is fast becoming an unusual singularity rather than the default expectation as in other gaming communities.

End of the day though, there is just so much fighting the good fight against oppressive tyranny and vileness that one can justify in relation to a single online game.

I mean if we lived in countries invaded by extremist nutjobs I imagine most of us could justify devoting six years of our lives to undermining the police state and hitting back against our occupiers ... when real life and freedoms are on the line then massive effort and sacrifice is often the rational response.

Problem with Eve and its exhaustively simulated descent into one-party extremism and erosion of positive cultural values - you could easily spend the same effort as you would in some real world hellhole but wake up a couple of years down then line and think "why the fuck did I bother?"

TLDR - why bother wasting your time fighting the goonification of eve culture when you could be volunteering at a homeless shelter or wilderness teaching survival skills to inner city children or something.

Anyways, enjoy other games and communities Jester, you were as others have said something like the soul and conscience of Eve online and you outlasted me by a couple of years! Fly safe and have fun.

Jester, your blog was a daily destination in my browser. Even when I disagreed with you, I thought you always argued from a place that was genuine and well-reasoned.

More than anything else, I really appreciated your thoughts on the Eve playerbase's reputation and less savory actions. It doesn't make somebody a carebear to know that we tolerate a lot of shitty behavior. I liked your attempts to foster discussion in that area, even if it undoubtedly got you an earful at times.

Take care, and I hope we can see your blogging resurrected when Eve is more fun for you again. :)

Very sorry to read this, like many commentators above reading this blog has been an intrinsic part of my Eve experience. I might not agree with your opinions all of the time but I respect the values you espoused and the effort you put in to the Eve part of your life.

07 Jester, I was one of your poorer supporters, but you still inspired me to send hundreds of millions of isk your way. I appreciate all you've done, keeping us informed and fighting for what is right and fair.

Eve has become a sanctuary for sociopaths, and appears to re-define the words "eat one's young" when it comes to how noobs are treated. Perhaps EVE will last for a while, until there are no more new players to harass--then the disgruntled base of EVE will find a new game.

I don't know when Iceland experienced its last earthquake, but closing your blog should create such shockwaves at CCP that the windows break and the foundation shutters. Strangely, I suspect there will be a staff meeting on Monday where familiar words are spoken regarding you and your blog, "We didn't need him anyway. HTFU!"

I also suspect that the friends you have made at CCP will silently hold their own opinions regarding the future of their current employment, and the ramifications following the closure of Eve's most read blog.

As a side note, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blogs about Kerbal, and ESO, along with others. After you take a break, won't you consider writing about other games? You have a real talent, and a welcome message for us. Heck, even though I closed all my accounts and gladly left EVE months ago, I still read your blog daily, just because you're that good.

I also echo the sentiment of the poster above @Aegea regarding Garth posting one more time, but I know that's not you. You've made the right choice--a graceful exit. Taking the high road is always the right choice, though I know you'd love to leave CCP a nice letter letting them know how they have ruined such a promising game. You already know the truth, don't you. No one at CCP cares or would listen. You know that because you already tried for a whole year.

Good luck and happy journeys. I'll keep checking your blog once a week or so to see if you start writing about other MMOs. All of your readers will dearly miss you. Even those whose sole purpose was to troll.

Come join a bunch of EVE players over at Ascent The Space Game. There's plenty to do that you'll recognize from EVE (mining, PVE, jump gates, space stations, research, manufacture). The people are decent, chat is fun, bugs get fixed quickly, and the DEV not only listens to the player base, but encourages suggestions.

Check out the videos of gameplay. You'll be welcomed here, and appreciated.

Dozens of comments on a similar vein but what can one more hurt?Really enjoyed all you've written, and I've found it's always made me look at my own eve career from new angles. Been on the verge of quitting for a long time, but I'm going to stick with it for a bit now; if I can't hear thoughtful, insightful opinions from you I'll have to look for more on my own.Only regret is never expressing how much I enjoyed your blog before it was done. Take care of yourself, in space and planetside o7

Thanks so much for all you have done Jester. I read your blog every day and really enjoyed your insightful and thought - provoking posts. Clearly you made a mark on the EVE universe. I am very sorry to see you go.

Please do consider continuing to blog about other games. You have a genuine talent. Best of luck to you mate and I wish you well in all your future endeavors.

What a shame. I certainly haven't agreed with you on many topics -- you've been infuriating at times, especially in the last few months -- but I faithfully read every word you write, and look forward to every post. You will be missed. o7

Thank you, sir, for all you've written. I've only been following this blog for half a year or so--I started playing Eve last August--but I've greatly appreciated your insight, thoughtfulness, and dedication to the community.

I (like many commenters, I suspect) have been guilty of only posting to say I disagree with something. (I squee'd a little bit when you responded to my comment once!--though I still disagreed with your response :P) I'm sorry if, by this, I have added DPS instead of reps. You certainly deserved the latter!

While I'm sad that I won't have your blog to look forward to every day, you've done an immense job, and earned yourself a solid rest! I hope you find full enjoyment in the activities you carry on with.

As you may remember I don't play EVE anymore but your blog kept me reading about it, and many other interesting themes, like geek philosophy and history, which many of your fellow citizens give for granted but gave me much needed insight into the American culture.

Sad to see you go, and really hope you enjoy greener pastures wherever you go. If you ever do writing again, please post it somewhere. See you around!

Jester, you were the main ingredient in this, what was once a very true saying. Now there is no more to read.

I read your blog every single day for the last 4 years, in sickness and in health, in country and in airports, even once on a plane-cost me $14.99 for Internet access. What in the world do you expect people like me to do now? Read Goblin?

I've been following your blog nearly since it started. The weekend after I found it, I read every post that you wrote to bring me up to speed. That was a total of about 75 posts. I've enjoyed your insight and analysis, even the ones that were clearly biased (they often helped me understand my own opinion and solidified them).

Obviously you've earned your reputation as an eve celebrity. Many of the other blogs out there relied heavily on traffic generated by your site. Some of those blogs wouldn't be around if it weren't for the links on the left panel or the occasional mention in your posts. There are a lot of good blogs out there and the opinions of those authors go a very long way toward making the EVE community what it is.

Rather than letting your site fall silent, would you consider letting select bloggers post articles on your site? Certainly, some of those bloggers will see increased traffic as folks look for alternatives to Jester's Trek. But some sites will see decreased traffic (likely the ones on the 'Infrequent but Important' list). It would be a shame to let a site with the traffic that this one generates lie fallow.

Damn:-( I've been reading your blog for 3 years. It was the one constant I had to look forward to. I feel like someone just punched me in the gut. Fly boldly Jester and good look. As for me, I'm going to go cry....

Ripard,I found your blog when I was reading about Eve before starting my first character about two years ago. I started up a Feedly reader to keep track of your posts and started adding others from there. I've found your guides useful and your commentary on the game and its events very insightful. I'm very sorry to hear that you're bowing out of blogging, but I'm glad to hear that it is so you can better enjoy the game. After your year as CSM and your blogging load, I can certainly expect that you need some more recharge time. I hope you can recharge and perhaps discover a whole new aspect of the game.

I really think you should rethink your decision. While we all respect it, the amount of positive feedback you received above shows that your opinions are important to many even to the ones that "hate"your opinions or they wouldn't attack you.

Also, the Eve Metagame the bloggers like you bring shows how passionate the players are and this should be the top consideration for you bloggers. It is a hard job, and really hits under the skins, as in game as in real life we tend to take certain comments on a personal level.

It's the best decision you could have taken regarding EvE. It´s a haven for online sociopaths, and they cannot be helped, since they're semi-autistic grimdark tryhards with so many emotional issues that the mere thought of empathy is abhorrent to them.

CCP deserves ruin for having nurtured such a gaming environment, and any sane individual deserves much better than spending time and money on this Schadenfreude-reaping platform.

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